Procedure for Approval of New LSA Webpages and Modules

Procedure for Approval of New LSA Webpages and Modules

The chair of the proposing committee should contact the chair of the Committee on Membership Services and Information Technology (COMSIT) with a CC to the Executive Director of LSA, indicating the committee's interest in creating a committee-specific web site as part of the main LSA web site.

The chair of COMSIT will determine if the proposed web site is congruent with the general mission of the society and of a scope that is likely to be implementable with the funds the society has available to create new information technology products. The chair may wish to consult with the Executive Director of LSA specifically regarding the budgetary implications of the proposal with the understanding that some features of the proposed site may need to be planned for inclusion in the following year's budget due to current year budget obligations already approved.

If the chair of COMSIT determines the proposed web site is a reasonable candidate as an addition to the society's existing web services, he or she will refer the chair of the proposing committee to the chair of the Technology Advisory Committee (TAC), an ex officio member on COMSIT, and the two committees will work together to develop a concrete draft proposal for the required functionality of the new web site.

Upon completion of the draft proposal, the chair of TAC will submit it for review by COMSIT and the Executive Director.

The chairs of the proposing committee and TAC will respond to the comments of COMSIT as appropriate to create a final version of the proposal.

The chair of TAC will submit the proposal to the appropriate vendor(s) in order to obtain estimates regarding the timeline and costs for implementation of the proposal.

The chair of TAC will then submit the final proposal to COMSIT, along with any obtained estimates, who will then submit it for approval by the Executive Committee. Under normal circumstances, TAC, in consultation with the proposing committee and the chair of COMSIT, will also recommend a particular vendor to implement the proposal in cases where estimates were received from multiple vendors. However, the final decision regarding choice of vendor shall be the prerogative of the Secretariat and the Executive Committee.

If the Executive Committee votes to implement the proposal, the chair of the proposing committee will work with appropriate parties to develop the web site, and COMSIT and TAC will review a test version of the site and suggest improvements before it becomes available to the general membership.

After improvements have been made, the new site will be incorporated into the main web site and, if appropriate, will be announced to the membership by the Secretariat.

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